Parker buried two goals for the third time in her career to lead the Crimson to a 2-0 upset over No. 6/6 Clarkson on Saturday. (Gil Talbot)

POTSDAM, N.Y. – Sophomore Mary Parker found the back of the net twice and classmate Emerance Maschmeyer denied 33 shots between the pipes to earn her third shutout of the season as the No. 8/8 Harvard women's hockey team toppled No. 6/6 Clarkson, 2-0, on Saturday evening in Cheel Arena.

The Crimson move to 5-1-0 (5-1-0 ECAC) after sweeping the weekend in the North Country in the final set of a four-game road swing. Harvard now sits a point behind Cornell in the ECAC standings to start the young season.

In a battle of top ranked opponents, it was Clarkson that came out firing first. The Knights, who came into the contest with one of the top offenses in the conference, scoring four goals per game, were quick to pepper Maschmeyer with shots, forcing the Crimson netminder to come up with five saves in the first few minutes of action.

After Clarkson's Carly Mercer was called for interference, the Crimson started on the power play, looking to convert for the first time in 13 tries since the opening weekend. With nice vision, defender Sarah Edney passed to an open Dylanne Crugnale who passed on a shot in favor of feeding it to Parker, who in turn buried it with ease past Erica Howe to give the Crimson a 1-0 lead before the midway point.

Harvard maintained its energy to close out the first period and open up the second. Maschmeyer was tested early in the period once again, this time coming up with seven saves before three minutes had passed. In a fast-paced, back-and-forth contest, featuring a fair amount of action in the neutral zone, Harvard capitalized again on quick play in front of the net.

Following a near miss from Gina McDonald, on a tricky reverse backhand, Parker collected the loose puck and scored her second goal with McDonald and sister and linemate Elizabeth Parker on the assists at the 8:23 mark.With the 2-0 lead, the Crimson maintained its uptempo play to close out the second and open the third period.

After saving 16 shots in the second, Maschmeyer answered the call in the third, stopping 13 more in the game's final 20 minutes. She and the Crimson defense withstood a barrage of Clarkson power plays to hold the Knights scoreless for just the second time this season.

With the four-game swing away from Cambridge completed, the Crimson returns to the Boston metro area for the next seven contests, starting with visits from Cornell and Colgate on Friday and Saturday to continue the ECAC gauntlet.